Free Too Dangerous to Desire by Alexandra Benedict Page A

confessing your inten tion to drown in the sea?”
    “No.”
    “Then don’t panic. If the henchmen are looking for you, there are many miles to cover in many directions. You are safe.”
    She gazed into his soulful eyes, so determined. What fuelled his dogged assurances? His confi dence? What provoked his passion so?
    “What about your father?” said Adam. “He might be a drunkard, but surely he will not let another daughter die at the hands of a villain?”
    A choking laugh. “Father is always searching for more money so he can gamble. He already consented to the betrothal with Vadik. We are to celebrate our engagement tomorrow night.”
    The depth of anger in Adam’s voice was stag gering. “But he murdered your sister!”
    “No one believes Vadik killed her. It was pur ported she had died in a riding accident. But I know the truth. Only I read Ella’s letters.”
    Adam approached the precipice in clear agita tion. “He’s your brother-in-law, though. He cannot lawfully wed you.”
    “In England, no. But there’s no such law pro hibiting the union in his home country. We’re to announce our engagement in England, then sail to the continent for the wedding.”
    “That’s not going to happen.”
    Evelyn wanted to believe him, but . . . “I can’t hide here forever.”
    She was not his kin. He had no real obligation toward her. True, he had promised to protect her, but he had made the rash vow in the emotional af termath of their first stormy encounter. He wasn’t going to give her shelter forever. She had already intruded upon his life, and one day she would have to leave, allow him to return to his comfort able existence.
    Adam was quiet for an unpleasant moment before he said, “You’re right; you can’t stay here forever.”
    Her heart pinched.
    “I’m a widower. And you belong with a proper chaperone.” He returned to her side, his gaze thoughtful. “You deserve a fitting home. A place where you can live in comfort and security.”
    She expected him to say that. She didn’t expect the crushing sensation in her breast, though. She didn’t understand it, either.
    “But we don’t have to think about that right now,” he assured her. “You are safe from Vadik here. And while you are here, I want you to learn how to fight.”
    Evelyn wasn’t so sure she could learn. “Ella always took care of me.” She let out a sigh, lighter in her heart for having confessed her ordeal. “I miss my sister so much. I feel lost without her.”
    “I understand.”
    “Do you? Do you feel lost without your brother?”
    Adam looked back out to sea. The sun’s crimson rays caressed his tanned skin, his woeful eyes.
    Evelyn could sense the deep turmoil in his soul. It pained him to think about his dead brother. She wanted to ask him more about his sibling, but she sensed he wasn’t ready to confess his heartache yet.
    “Yes, I feel lost,” he admitted quietly. He looked back at her with those piercing blue eyes. “Come. Let’s return to the cottage.”

Chapter 10
    nm
    t was a moonless night. Adam folded his hands behind his head and reclined across the sand. He stared at the bright stars and listened to the smooth swell of the water lapping against the shore.
    What was he going to do with Evelyn?
    He had attended to her immediate needs: food, shelter, and clothing. However, he had not de vised a plan for her future welfare. She couldn’t live with him forever. It was improper. He needed to find her a secluded, more suitable, home. A chaperone, too. Perhaps even a husband? Now that would definitively put an end to Vadik’s wedding plans. But Adam was no matchmaker. He hadn’t the social graces to orchestrate a courtship.
    There was so much he still wanted to do for Evelyn . . . so what if he didn’t survive the night? What would happen to her then?
    A soft light beamed in the distance.
    Adam watched the glowing speck brighten, un perturbed. The tin lantern soon cast a soft sparkle over the dark